More than 600 Small to medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the Volta Region signed up for the MTN Ghana Foundation's SME Support Programme. These include agribusinesses, manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology, and finance, the majority of which were owned by young entrepreneurs. The MTN established the initiative as a dedicated support for indigenous SMEs in the country, and the Volta Region is among the three selected for this year's run. Three hundred of the applicants have been shortlisted to be screened in a two-day business pitching at the regional office of the MTN, where 120 would be selected to receive financial support of up to GHC 20,000. The five-year programme is run by business support firm Innohub and began last year in Greater Accra, Kumasi and the Western Region. It is the turn of the Central, Volta and Eastern regions this year. The Ghana News Agency (GNA) witnessed the Ho pitch sessions where applicants from the Volta Region faced a panel of three female judges. Agribus iness clearly is the preferred economic venture for the majority of entrepreneurs, dominated by the youth, and women maintained dominance in food processing and marketing as well as in the production of household detergents and other soda-based products. There were a surprising number of tech enterprises proudly owned by young daring entrepreneurs in the Region, while waste management also enjoyed a commendable amount of interest from entrepreneurial youth. Madam Cynthia Mills, the MTN Foundation's Economic Empowerment Advisor, told the GNA that the support should spur innovation and the development of potential industries in the country. She said the multiyear programme hoped to support businesses to enhance job creation by ensuring a steady growth of financial and business development support. 'MTN Ghana Foundation decided to embark on this project because we realised that there are so many people doing marvellous things. People are doing businesses that need support to be able to scale up and employ ot her people and that's why MTN Foundation wants to bring this to their doorstep,' she said. She commended the entrepreneurial landscape in the Region, saying: 'So far it's been wonderful. There's been amazing products and we are even surprised.' 'So, we wish them the very best and we hope that they continue to do the good work they are doing.' The Economic Empowerment Advisor would acknowledge the rise in tech entrepreneurs and ICT business, which she said was being encouraged to enhance the landscape's complexity. 'The potential in Volta Region is very great and people are doing a lot of processing or value addition in the things that they do. The diversion is great. And even in the ICT too, people are becoming innovative and are churning out good products, So it's a good story.' 'We hope that once we invest in them, their businesses will grow to higher heights. They would employ more people, and then we would reduce other social vices,' she said. Ms Juliet Dzasi, the Programmes Lead at Innohub, said th e job prospects of businesses in the Region were encouraging with a good number of businesses registering more than 10 employees, and that the goal was to make them attractive to the investor community.' 'We are looking out for very innovative businesses, people who are familiar with or know their business. They should have the tendency to scale up and be able to create jobs for others,' she said. Doris Esinam Dzah, a registered nurse and entrepreneur, told the GNA that she got attached to the programme through the chamber of young entrepreneurs in the Region, and was grateful for the initiative. She said MTN offered long-sought support that would greatly propel the Region and its economy. 'This programme is very very important. It will enable a lot of you to be able to create jobs for themselves and to help to reduce the unemployment rate in the country,' she said. Source: Ghana News Agency